The present invention relates to a front body structure of a vehicle and, more specifically to, a reinforcement structure of a front body.
Various front body structures have been proposed in order to enhance a shock absorbing performance of vehicles in an event of collision. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. Toku-Kai-Hei 4-349077, as shown in FIG. 6, discloses a technique in which a Y-shaped reinforcement member 500 is disposed respectively at both sides of a cowl 100 which constitutes a lower part of a front windshield of a vehicle.
The reinforcement member 500 has a box-like cross section, or closed cross section, which comprises a base member 600 extending in a transverse direction of the vehicle and a pair of pronged portions 700, 800 bifurcated at both ends 600a of the base member 600. The rear ends 700a, 800a of the pronged portions 700, 800 are connected to an upper portion 1000a and lower portion 1000b of a lower front pillar 1000 which constitutes a lower part of a front pillar 200, respectively. Further, a flange portion 900 of the reinforcement member 500 is spot-welded to a wheel apron 110.
This prior art in which the reinforcement member is secured to the wheel apron is capable of reducing loads exerted on the front pillar or the cowl, compared to a case where no reinforcement member is used, when an excessive load is applied to the front portion of the vehicle. Therefore, it is desired to use the reinforcement member in more effective way, for example, in such a manner that an impact load applied to the front pillar can be reduced.